Friends Doing The Twist
by gilmoregirl1979
Summary: what could have happened after luke discovers Nicole is a CHEATER CHEATER SOCKMAN EATER! DIRTY! CHAPTER 6!
1. Friends Doing The Twist

**Friends Doing the Twist  
****By Gilmoregirl1979(the Reigning Quote Queen)**

**Rating:PG 13 with an ISH**

**R/R: yes please I love reviews, I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.)**

**Summary: friends doing the twist… DIRTY! **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer:WITH THE FIRE AND THE JUMPING AND THE HOOPS! Once again, and I get tired of cutting and pasting this… I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**NOW FEATURING: LittleSid as ONE of my amazing new BETAs (that's right I have SPARES!)! Let's give her a hand folks; she helped me with 3 fics in two days! That's dedication my friends…**

**Luvz: Miss you!**

**Hello my little crack whores (and other shout outs):  
TOM and J. STONE : just to MIX IT UP tom wanted all of me… why not take all of me! LOL**

**A/N: OKAY again… like 85 percent of this was written in October 2005, and then it was put on the back burner cause a little thing called WITS Quite took over… and I kept having my doubts… and my beta was unavailable. But with new betas and anew attitude… ENJOY!**

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**Chapter 1:  
****The Ins and Outs of Marriage**

Lorelai loved waking up with a good smelling man. It was a rare occurrence in her life, especially these days with Jason's insomnia and insistence to sleep alone, with her banished to the decked out guest room. However, this evening, there were special circumstances apparently. After the evenings events… she couldn't believe she was actually considering breaking up with Jason.

This was a perfect early morning after … warm and naked in the arms of her fella, and Lorelai couldn't help but notice how much more tone Jason's body was as she became more aware of her surroundings and her hand wandered over his chest and stomach, _he must be working out._

Overall, life was good. The Dragonfly Inn was coming together, her daughter, Rory, was dazzling them in the Ivy League, and she had just had a night of mind blowing sex as a means of relaxing from her recent stresses and money troubles. Lorelai felt content and at peace for the first time in a long time. She opened her eyes eager to see her boyfriend first thing in the early morning … but her smile faded when she was met with the sight of a naked Luke Danes beside her instead.

_What?_

Lorelai propped herself up on her elbow to take in the full sight. They were in Luke's apartment above the diner, specifically in his twin bed. Luke "Coffee will kill you" Danes, still asleep and dead to the world, and she, Lorelai "Can I have Coffee in my Blood Transfusion" Gilmore, naked … in bed together. _Talk about mind blowing…_Lorelai rubbed her throbbing forehead as the night's events suddenly surged through her brain.

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And now…

It's time… for a Flashback (insert En Vouge: Never gonna get it, Never gonna get it, Never gonna get it, Never gonna get it….A WOAW WOAW WOOOOOOOAW…)  
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7 hours ago…

Lorelai entered her house, just dropped off from her date with Jason, and frowned at the "Talking Key" in her hand.

Sure, Jason was funny and kind of quirky… but he was well … just for fun… and now he was really starting to care about Lorelai? About "them"? Professing that this was the most serious relationship he had ever had, and that the feeling to run away wasn't present this time around… that he wanted to stay with Lorelai?

But did Lorelai _want_ to stay with Jason? How did Lorelai feel about Jason?

Was he "it" for her? Were her feelings growing just as fast… if at all…?

_No_, Lorelai realized. The main attraction to Jason was that he pissed off Emily. And even that didn't work out since she had never told Richard and Emily they had been seeing each other to begin with.

The only reason Lorelai finally accepted Jason's invitation was to get back at Emily. During the Yale/Harvard game, Emily had wrongly took out her anger over Richard's secret luncheons with Pennilyn Lott on Lorelai. So naturally, in a just retaliation, Lorelai called Jason, and they had the worst first date ever… but for whatever reason… the mismatched pair continued to see each other.

_This whole thing started off on the wrong foot _as she recalled the mishaps of their first date, somehow in the infatuation over the last few months, those blunders had been misinterpreted as charming, but in retrospective… they were just annoying… as they had been when they originally unfolded.

Lorelai hated giving bad news to people and even more so breaking up with a boyfriend. _How do you explain to some one you just… don't feel what they do…?_ The last time she didn't feel the same way as someone else… she almost married him. Rather than face Max and his disappointment, and in childish avoidance of the uncomfortable conversation, she ran away on a road trip with Rory two days before the wedding. Everyone in Stars Hollow knew the wedding was off before the groom did.

Lorelai wanted to be mature about it this time… but she and Jason were two of the most immature people in all of Connecticut, and she hated not knowing how Jason was going to take it. _Any advice?_ She asked the talking key, _you know him better than I do…_

The key's silence mocked her predicament… to give her mind a break, Lorelai played her phone messages to find that Luke's voice filled the air.

_Luke? ... Luke never calls me, _she dismissed with a wave, _it can wait what could he possibly need from me at this time of night …_ Lorelai was about to go up stairs to bed when two words caught her attention…

_Police station?_

… and she spun quickly on the stairs to face the machine again …

_In Jail?_ Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

With that, Lorelai was out the door to be there for her friend.

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After Luke attacked the sock man's car a second time, he officially calmed down, and Lorelai felt bad that Luke had to drive back to Stars Hollow all by himself. Away from Litchfield, away from his townhouse, his wife, and from their vows she was breaking. As Lorelai followed him on the road she wondered what Luke could possibly be thinking by himself in the green truck ahead of her. Trying to remember his lawyer's number or where exactly he had put those divorce papers, or possibly beating himself up for the whole weird marriage to begin with.

Lorelai had to follow Luke to the diner, not only did they live in the same town, despite what he had told others about moving to Litchfield. Lorelai just wanted to make sure he didn't drive off a cliff or do something drastic. He had parked around the corner from the diner, like he usually did. And though Lorelai parked a little down the street, closer to Doose's, she could still see how defeated he was as he climbed the few stairs in to his lonely diner. She knew Luke shouldn't be alone, not at a time like this, that's what friends were for. So she left her car by Doose's, and she walked up to the diner and persistently knocked on the door.

When Luke finally came to the door, he barked at her through the glass with a muffled, "What?"

"Can I come in?"

"No"

"Luke, please… you just found out … you know… about Nicole… I don't think you should be alone…"

Luke fumed and glared at her.

"I know where the spare key is," she reminded him with a threat.

Luke knew she would push it till she got her way anyway, so he resigned with a heavy "Fine," and he unlatched the door and let her in, "… you want a beer?" he dully offered.

"Please," she smiled, not really sure what was ahead, "you have beer in the diner?" finding it strange since in 7 years she had never seen it on the menu.

"Yeah… I got a liquor license a few months ago to piss off Taylor," and Luke went into the kitchen to get the beer.

That's the Luke she knew. Luke had been there for her so many times before… most recently with lending her the money to finish the Inn. _Yeah, Jason didn't even do that…_If she could repay him in some small way, be there for him even if he didn't want her there. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it specifically… but if he changed his mind, she would be up for that too.

Frankly, the whole relationship had been a mystery to Lorelai. How had Luke and Nicole met? How did they end up together? Why did they keep dating when they obviously had nothing in common? What made Luke propose on that cruise anyway? How hard did they really "try again" if he never really moved into "their" place in Litchfield? How long had there been a Sock man?

Lorelai hoped that as the beer flowed, some of the relationship details would too, despite how much she'd hate hearing about the life and intimate times of Luke and Nicole.

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About two hours and a quite a few beer bottles later, Lorelai had never seen Luke laugh so hard.

They started off slow with causal beers and as the alcohol took its desired effect, they were bashing everything about Nicole, her profession as a lawyer, and her beloved sock man.

"Oh My God…" Lorelai sniggered hoping the liquid didn't go up her nose.

"What?" and Luke turned around to see what caught Lorelai's attention outside… Luke squinted, "Is that Kirk…?"

"Yes," Lorelai started laughing hysterically again, "And he's naked," Lorelai clapped with delight, "Oh, why do I never have a camera for things like this…" as she tried to catch her breath.

"Would you really want to save that for all time?" Luke asked, his voice conveying how loose he felt now.

"Sure, we could send it out on our Christmas cards. Oh, Emily would love that…" and she took another swig.

"Yeah that would go over big I'm sure… Oh No, Quick, he's coming around for another pass," As Kirk went screaming and streaking through the square for his second lap, Luke took Lorelai's hand and pulled Lorelai behind the counter. They ducked down so Kirk wouldn't see them, and they peaked around the counter to see when he had gone…

"That's really Kirk… naked," Luke was disgusted and confused.

Lorelai couldn't help but giggle, "That is really Kirk… really running, really naked …through the really square." She cocked her head to one side for a better view, if there was one, and Lorelai observed, "I think his eyes are closed…", and she turned to look at Luke, and suddenly noticed how close he was beside her. Lorelai's foggy mind recalling… _Oh no, I think we've been here before…_ and her eyes automatically dropped to his lips.

Luke was having the déjà vu sensation too, almost in the same position with Lorelai before… back when they were picking paint colors for the diner … four years ago… _that wasn't four years ago, was it really four years ago?_ He argued with himself, but he could have measured the time by the length of her hair. They had hidden in that exact same spot when Taylor came with the entire historical society to discuss the use of pastels in the diner's new color scheme. That night, so many moons ago, Luke had wanted to kiss her then…

Now that he had a second chance for that kiss, the same girl, the same location… so he did; No hesitation, No thinking about it this time, he just leaned in and did it and Lorelai didn't fight him. Hiding like teenagers under the bleachers, they were behind the counter unable to stop themselves.

It felt so good and right to be together, having known each other for years but never crossing that line.

Tonight the dam had broken, to many factors filling up against their respective relationships, too much pressure to ignore. In each other's arms they were safe from heartbreak, soothed from pain and most importantly…finally together.

No words were used or needed. Only sighs and moans to give permission for what was happening. Luke removed Lorelai's pink coat to the floor, and Lorelai's arms were all too eager to be free of the fabric so they could remove Luke's flannel shirt. Lorelai returned the kiss with everything she had, and could have devoured him, eager to keep his attention. She adjusted her position to sit across from him and lean into him on the floor, cupping his face in her hands, but Luke soon had Lorelai lying on her back, eager show her what had been missing from the 7 years of their long friendship.

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**A/N:**

**MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH**

**HOW ABOUT THAT MISDIRECTION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER… you thought it was Jason… but it wasn't, it was LUKE!**

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****"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!****  
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**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) at least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	2. Tipsy Turvey

**Insert Strong Bad voice:  
Like a Phoenix, from the ashes**

**...she rises again!**

**Friends Doing the Twist **

**By Gilmoregirl1979(the Reigning Quote Queen) **

**Rating:****PG 13 with an ISH **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews, I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Summary: friends doing the twist… DIRTY! **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: WITH THE FIRE AND THE JUMPING AND THE HOOPS! Once again, and I get tired of cutting and pasting this… I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. **

**NOW FEATURING: LittleSid**** as ONE of my amazing new BETAs (that's right I have SPARES!)! Let's give her a hand folks; she helped me with 3 fics in two days! That's dedication my friends…**

**Luvz:**** Miss you!**

**Hello my little crack whores (and other shout outs): read in the reviews**

**A/N: OKAY again… like 85 percent of this was written in October 2005, and then it was put on the back burner cause a little thing called WITS Quite took over… and I kept having my doubts… and my beta was unavailable. But with new betas and anew attitude… ENJOY!**

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**Chapter 2:  
Tipsy Turvey **

Lorelai painfully opened her eyes and she instantly knew she had too much to drink… or that she was still drunk… she wasn't sure at that moment. As she woke up, her cloudy head was scolding her for inflicting such an alcoholic ordeal on it at her age. _My age, my age you're always going on about my age!_ The first thing she saw was a tangle of curls dangling in her face that she recognized as her own hair. She pushed back her hair, and tested out her dry mouth with a parched swallow. Her mind was still fuzzy, she then tried focused on the objects in front of her and she recognized the organized compartments of the back of the counter in Luke's diner from her slanted view from the floor.

_Why am I on the floor? _

As she moved… her cloudy perspective deduced that she was cold because she was naked… _Why am I cold and naked on the floor? Am I torn? _

As she started humming the pop song melody because it was now playing in her swimming head, she noticed she wasn't alone… _Wait a minute… I'm naked on the diner floor… with… _

She lifted her head from her fleshy pillow and she saw him.

Luke was with her… in all his glory, also naked on the floor.

At first, her fuzzy mind thought it was funny, then confusing, but there was a small sober voice somewhere in her head that told her this was serious. Lorelai was lying beside him, and his chest had been her pillow… for how ever long they were down there. A hazy Lorelai sat up to find something to cover herself with and the first thing she found was Luke's flannel shirt; _Perfect_. She slipped on the long sleeves and buttoned up the garment. She didn't think she had it in her to stand just yet, so on her knees she peaked around the corner of the counter to look outside only to find it was still dark, _must still be the middle of the night._

Now she had to deal with Luke… a drunk, passed out… and completely naked and very dense Luke. Lorelai's eyes darted everywhere but the obvious, and in another quick survey behind the counter, she found his boxers and didn't know if she should wake him up, or if she should just take matters in her own hands. _Oh Boy, Dirty,_ she chuckled again.

Her still buzzing brain decided she was an adult, Luke was an adult, and they were both naked. And it's not like she had never seen … that… before, just never Luke's. So Lorelai figured _what the heck._ She slipped on his boxers, starting at his feet… _one foot at a time, of course_; and inched the waistband up his legs. The closer she got to Luke's "nether regions", the more nervous she became about him waking up and misinterpreting what she was doing. Again… they were both already naked, but she wasn't sober enough to start an in depth discussion with him of what was going on.

Something else told Lorelai they should get out of the diner, which she agreed with. After all, a bed is more comfortable than the floor… and come morning… there would be a lot of questions and this spot wouldn't be so private with Miss Patty and Babette having their breakfast 5 feet away from where Luke and her had sex.

Lorelai laughed at herself again, and almost snorted at the thought … _we had sex… in the diner… of all places…_ she shook her head as she strained to focus on the articles of clothing she knew she had to gather up,_ Oops there are my panties…. I'll need those …eventually,_ she laughed to herself again. _Hey my coat, I'll need that eventually too._ With his jeans and her blouse, and other articles of clothing in a bundle in her arms she knew she should wake up Luke. There was no way she could carry Luke and the clothes… _well not at the same time,_ her muddled mind reasoned. She poked his rib cage, "Luke."

"Hmmmm?"

"Get up…" she nudged him again.

"Wha?"

"Come on… we have to get up stairs…" she whined, unable to believe how slow he could be after being awake for only a few seconds.

"Why?" Luke's own dry mouth asked, quite content to remain where he was.

_Come on... Man, we are on the floor, use some logic… _"Because… your bed is more comfortable… now come on…"

Now with a reason to move, Luke slowly found his footing and stood up and Lorelai started to snicker again, "what?" Luke asked plainly, as he leaned against the counter.

"You're breaking the 'no shirt…no shoes… no service' rule…" she chuckled, trying to keep a grip on the clothing as she bent over laughing.

"Yeah… well you don't have pants on."

"Neither do you," she shot back.

Both trudged up the stairs, haphazardly leaning on each other, and they entered Luke's apartment. Without ceremony, Lorelai dumped the bundle of mixed clothes on Luke's couch and returned to his side to "tuck him in", never giving a thought to where she would sleep. The word "bed" kept repeating in Luke's head, so he just plopped on the bed, and sat obediently as Lorelai was pulling down the cover. Luke studied her with cloudy eyes. "You look good in my shirt," he complimented.

She had to smile at his random, misplaced compliment; "thank you…" as she played tug of war with the comforter, as she performed "turn down" like she had thousands of times at the Inn as if she was on automatic pilot.

Then Luke pulled her to stand in front of him, and Lorelai stumbled in place a bit, not expecting Luke to pull her away from her task, and his hands slipped under the shirt and grazed tiny circles on Lorelai's hips with his palms, "You look better out of my shirt," he hazily smiled.

Lorelai had seen that look in his eyes before… right before what happened behind the counter downstairs, "Luke…" she droned out again, something told her, "…we need to get in bed, so we can sleep this off ..."

Luke hugged Lorelai at her waist and fluidly insisted, "I feel fine…" with a sweet smile Lorelai had never seen before.

Lorelai was about to argue "No, Luke… you are dru…" but Luke cut off her words. With a hand in her hair, he pulled her down for another kiss. Lorelai wasn't one to shy away from a kiss, especially when it was a really good kiss, but there was a sober voice shouting from somewhere in the back of her mind _… he's drunk…. You are drunk…_ The voice kept scolding her even as her hands went from wanting to push him away, to combing through his hair, _you two shouldn't be doing this… again… He's married…_ And still the voice reprimanded her as she climbed up on top of Luke and straddled him on the bed …_ he doesn't know what he's doing._

But Luke knew exactly what he was doing, or rather what to do to make Lorelai's defenses break down. His goal wasn't to get Lorelai in bed. His cloudy mind simply thought that what happened down stairs had turned out all right… so what's one more time between friends. He wasn't even thinking of Nicole anymore. No malice, no scorn, it was base line, primal want for the long time object of his affection.

Luke had loved and cared for Lorelai since they became friends in those first few months she graced his diner with her presence. Granted, tonight the beer he used to drown his sorrows over his adulterous wife now diluted those pure feelings of love toward Lorelai to simplistic lust. But as Lorelai discovered in the diner, Luke knew exactly how to please a woman and any argument the voice in her head had to the contrary was forgotten as the pair fell into that intimate rhythm … again. Luke rolled her over on her back so he could unbutton and slip the flannel off her shoulders. With Lorelai's new position, it made it easier for her to slowly slide the boxers she had painstakingly put on Luke… off again, her only focus: wanting to be with Luke again … this time in his tiny twin bed.

"Lorelai…" Luke whispered, "I've always wanted you…."

This confession surprised Lorelai but she was too distracted by what they were doing to let it fully register. Random thoughts came to the front of her mind, little details long forgotten or pushed aside. Among them, little moments with Luke, shy glances, small smiles and her hidden jealousy over the years, "I've wanted you too…" she finally confessed.

Again the repercussions of her words would not register till her head had more time to clear.

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**End flashback **

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**A/N: okay so this whole fic started with an image… of Luke and Lorelai … having sex on the diner floor… of course! What circumstances would accommodate such an unorthodox display…. **

**This fic is my answer…. **

**What do you think? **

**DO TELL DO TELL! **

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**"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!**  
**7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) at least specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund …**


	3. Oy With The Morning After Already!

**Friends Doing The Twist  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan FICTION!**

**Rating:**** PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer****: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R****: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Luvz: I miss you **

**FEATURED BETA: localizy, thank you for putting up with my compulsive persnickety changes…  
special thanks to pickwicknext for the encouragement!**

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****End flashback  
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****Chapter 3:  
Oy With The Morning After Already!**

Her remembering completed, Lorelai sat silently in his bed, dumbfounded at how things had gotten so out of hand. Then she jumped into action.

"Luke…" Now free from the affects of alcohol, Lorelai tried to shake him awake. "Luke, wake up…"

"Jeez… what?" he groaned as his eyes opened and focused on who he was with, "…Lorelai?" naturally surprised to see her of all people.

"Hi," Lorelai smiled lamely.

"What are we…?" and he then saw their predicament.

"I think we got… a little carried away…" she winced.

"Oh My God…"

She agreed, "Yeah, to say the least."

On his tiny bed, they separated under the covers, tucking themselves in again on their respective sides, trying not to look at each other. Lying on their backs, ever so carefully as to avoid touching skin on skin under the covers, once again, a difficult task on a single bed. They each absorbed the situation while staring at the same spot on the ceiling, both trying to recover from their surprise. Lorelai pulled up the sheet over her chest as she settled on her side, amazed they could both fit fairly comfortably on the twin mattress, yet still seeing random flashes of what else they did on the twin mattress. Both were waiting for the other to say something…some humorous commentary on their situation, but each knew this was serious. The annoying tick of Luke's old-fashioned alarm clock was all that could be heard in the middle of the night. Lorelai peeked over at Luke on his side of the bed and Luke seemed to be recalling on his own what had happened, "Oh God…Lorelai… I'm so sorry."

Leave it to Luke to nobly take all the blame and beat him self up over their shared situation. "No… no it was the both of us…" she admitted, her eyes going up to the ceiling again, realizing for the first time Luke had seen her naked, then figuring that was the least of her problems. Lorelai was unsure if she could look him in the face again.

"But I just… _used_ you…" Luke reproached himself.

That statement snapped her head toward him, "You did not use me…" Lorelai insisted, and she couldn't help but take his hand in hers as she consoled him. She knew he wasn't listening, and could tell he was going to make this out as entirely his fault. She propped up on her elbow again, and with her left hand on his cheek she forced Luke to look her in the eye, "You were upset…and hurt… and angry at Nicole… and honestly so was I…" It was strange to be in such an intimate setting with Luke, even though in recent years he had become one of her closest friends; that is what made this situation so hard. "…I was here, Luke, I was willing… it was … the both of us…" and more flashes of the events distracted her as she tried to figure out who exactly started what and where.

Luke took a deep breath and realized, "but … I cheated on …my wife," completely disgusted with himself _I sunk to Nicole's level… I wanted revenge… and I ruined everything, my marriage… my friendship with you…_

Lorelai knew that is what he'd remember and she decided to remind him "she cheated on you first… who knows how many times…"

"Thanks," he said dryly.

Her observation obviously wasn't helping… "That's not… you know what I meant …"

"They don't just cancel each other out, Lorelai," he argued, "what she's done… is wrong … but so is this."

"You were upset…" Lorelai said again quietly, thinking of how happy and safe she felt when she first woke up, surprised to discover that Jason had never made her feel that way…and that Luke had. Lorelai sat up away from him, figuring, as much distance as she could put between them was best. She readjusted the sheet around her to stay covered.

"Make up as many excuses as you like… this still was … wrong" Even so; Luke did get a conflicted amount of satisfaction that he was with Lorelai while Nicole was with her sock man.

"Well, lecture all you want but it still happened… and _we…_" she emphasized so he knew they were in this together, "…now …have to deal with that…" She wondered what this meant for their longstanding friendship… for his marriage, and for her and Jason's future.

Luke sighed, "Well at least it was just the once…"

Then Lorelai suddenly remembered, "Umm twice…actually," as even more flashes invading her head and she tried to push the images of Luke and her out of her mind, she just couldn't deal with the enormity of the situation.

"What?"

"We … you know... twice…" here Lorelai was an intelligent sophisticated female, but the situation had her resorting to referring to the sex she had with her best friend… as "you know".

"We did?"

"The first time… was… in the diner…" Lorelai winced, hoping he wouldn't be too upset.

"In the diner?" the unorthodox location obviously surprised Luke, and he sat up at attention to look her in the eye.

"On the floor… "

"Please … tell me you are kidding," he begged her.

"I think my bra is still behind the counter," Lorelai recalled with almost certainty.

"We …" he still couldn't believe it…and his mouth open and closed a few times before making any sound, "…behind the counter?"

"Yup…" she shyly pressed her lips together.

"How did we get up here?"

Again the details were a bit fuzzy, "Well I think… Kirk was passing by… or something… and I didn't want him or anyone to… you know, see us… like that… sooo, I gathered up what I could of our clothes… and woke you up enough to get you up stairs… and well I think… we were still a little … tipsy... and we… you know… again…up here."

"…And I just used my best friend…" he chastised again.

"Luke, we are two consenting adults… you were willing, I was willing…"

"We were drunk…" he regretted, if ever in his life he was going to sleep with Lorelai Gilmore, Luke at least wanted it to be something worth remembering.

"Hey, I was mad at Nicole too, I wanted to get back at her too." Lorelai didn't know what else to say but to confess, "If it makes you feel better… you didn't cheat alone."

"Well, it takes two to tango…" Luke rolled his eyes, as he leaned against the headboard.

"No, I mean… I was... unfaithful too," _God I hate that word… it sounds so… condemning._

"What?"

Lorelai never really talked about her relationships with Luke, he always had a problem with her guys. "I've been seeing this …guy… Jason… the last few months..." Lorelai explained, "and well, tonight, umm … or last night rather… he gave me the key to his apartment… and he made this big deal of how this is the most committed relationship he's been in and how he's finally taking things seriously. And he's pouring his heart out to me… and… well, I realized… I didn't feel the same."

"Are you saying… you _used me?_ To break up with this guy…"

Lorelai defended herself, "No! ... No," she looked him in the eye again for only a moment, but then looked down and began to nervously play with the sheet around her "… I just… I didn't plan this… it just happened… all the pieces fell in to place… and things played out… the way they did…"

"Uh huh."

"Luke, I wouldn't do that to you… you know me… Jason and I had a date last night and he explained the key and his feelings… and I thought about it… and I knew then… I didn't want to be with him any more… then I got your call and we found out about Nicole… and … everything… just… happened…"

Luke was cautiously gauging her feelings on her boyfriend, "So you… don't want to be with this guy…"

"No…I don't"

"And it has nothing to do with tonight?"

"Well" _maybe a little … now that we've … been together… and I now know what I was missing…_ "I mean he is nice and fun… but he's from that world… you know, my mother's world, that world I ran from, that vapid world of exclusivity that I hate… Oh, and my mother… you know how nosey she is, and heaven forbid if she finds something out two seconds after anyone else… I mean there is such a thing as proximity… geographical and emotional… I don't feel like letting her in to my life because… whenever I'm happy about something she always find a way to tear it down… and well, I fully meant to tell my folks about me and Jason… but the longer things went on, the harder it was to approach the subject… the harder it would be to explain …and it doesn't help that he is my dad's business partner… and my folks don't know about it…"

"How old is this guy…?" again wonder if she'd date anyone, even her father's no doubt ancient business partner, before she'd see him.

"He's my age…" Lorelai defended, "We went to summer camp together… we met up again when he went into business with my dad… and… well anyway, it was just a bad idea from the start… it was for all the wrong reasons… " _Yeah Emily let's blame Emily for this whole mess._

"So, are you gonna tell him… about this?"

"Well, I could spare his feelings… considering … I don't know … are you gonna tell Nicole about this?"

"I don't know… I mean… what grounds for divorce do I have if I've had an affair too?"

_Divorce? An Affair? Is that what this was? _It sounded so scandalous to Lorelai, especially given their small town and its gossips… especially considering the straight-laced man that was Luke.

They were quiet, but well aware that they were still skin on skin under the covers.

"Luke…I don't … know what to do now… " Lorelai admitted honestly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," it was awkward for her to ask, "Should I go home…? I mean… we just…" _had sex,_ "…and well I don't know if you feel better about Nicole… or worse for what we did…"

"I don't know… my head is still pounding…" and Luke rubbed his tired eyes.

"Okay…" _that's not an answer buddy…_and she nervously played with the bed sheet again, "umm…"

Seeing her shy uncertainty, seeing a chance to spend the night with her, no matter how much of a nightmare the situation was. Luke took her fidgeting hand and finally whispered, "Stay". After all he had been through that night, after all _they_ had been through together that night; he wanted Lorelai to stay close.

The way Luke was looking at her confused Lorelai, she could tell he was in pain and didn't want to be alone, but at the same time, he had something shining and pure in his eyes, and she liked the way he was looking at her, "Are you sure?"

"What's the harm now…" he shrugged, wanting to get back to sleep and praying this wouldn't make things weird between him and Lorelai, his best friend. "You're right… I don't want to be alone right now…" he confessed with almost pleading eyes.

"Okay?" Lorelai agreed in a whisper, a little on edge, and a little voice telling her to runaway…_Go bother Jason… _but another told her to stay put because this is where she was needed the most, this is where she wanted to be.

"Umm do you… want me to… take the couch?"

"What's the harm now?" she repeated with a small smile.

"Umm do you…want to put something … on?" and Luke still trying not to think of the skin on skin contact under his sheets. Luke offered, but honestly he was fine with her being naked… despite how awkward the situation was, "I mean I want you to be comfortable…"

"No, no, I'm good…" she dismissed, trying to act like this happened everyday. That it wasn't a big deal for her and Luke to share a bed… naked. That it wasn't a big deal she slept with him…discomfort aside, she settled on her side of the bed facing him and took his hand again "We're in this together you know," as they easily fell asleep again.

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	4. Not Hungry

**Friends Doing the Twist  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan FICTION!**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Luvz: I miss you**

**FEATURING BETA: localizy, this girl can read at like 200 WPM … I just want to put her on display and sell tickets! BABY, you're the GREATEST! (read her fics What can I say and Can't Buy Me Love, I Helped!)  
777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777**

**Chapter 4:  
Not Hungry**

As Luke started to wake up,he was certain it all had to have been a dream… a trick of his subconscious to take his mind off his marriage troubles, to distract him with a delightful fantasy of Lorelai … then he felt her arm on his chest. He opened his eyes, and saw that Lorelai had dropped the conservative holding his hand for being huddled up right against him… still naked, skin against skin, in his small bed. Once again, he could feel her breasts on his chest, her cold nose was in the crook of his neck, and she had a leg slung over his.

Luke was trapped; he couldn't crane his neck enough to see what time it was without the risk of waking her up. He knew he was scheduled to open the diner today, even before Nicole's indiscretion landed him in jail and consequently in bed with Lorelai. Lorelai looked so peaceful asleep beside him, almost happy, but the uncertainty and discomfort of having to talk more about what happened last night loomed again.

Luke could see the sun just peaking up, also seeing that he should get up and deal with the diner first. He decided to risk the uncomfortable conversation, if only he could promise to talk to Lorelai later, if he could get to his chores down in the diner. Luke tried to slowly peel Lorelai off him, but she felt him shift. "Don't go…" Lorelai whispered as she clung tighter to Luke in her sleepy daze, not realizing that when she woke up things would still be awkward and they would still have to talk about everything. She just wanted him to stay with her… and keep her warm, make her feel loved.

Luke wondered if she knew he wasn't Jason, if in her sleep she had rolled over because she thought she was with her boyfriend. "I'll be back," Luke promised, wondering if that was something Jason would say to her. He left the bed and her grasp, but before he walked too far away, he stopped and took in the abnormal sight before him. Lorelai Gilmore sleeping naked in his bed; the bed sheet was now down around her waist giving him an ample view as she slept on her stomach, cuddling with Luke's pillow since he was now absent from the bed. He couldn't help but admire the beautiful contrast of Lorelai's exposed bare back as her long dark curls draped over her fair skin. He wanted to commit the image to memory since he didn't know if he'd ever see anything so beautiful ever again.

Luke put on some jeans and a T-shirt, and as he headed toward the kitchen, he noticed the wad of clothes carelessly tossed onto the couch… then Luke seemed to remember Lorelai mentioning there were still clothes downstairs in the diner, so he went to check and clear away all the evidence of his own indiscretion before the townies noticed and started hitting them up for details.

Reluctantly, he left Lorelai alone upstairs, to let her sleep a little longer. As he entered the diner, it looked entirely new to him. He tried to image the diner as it would be later in the day, busy with patrons who would be none the wiser of what happened the night before between the long time friends.

Luke had neglected his regular closing chores, what with being in jail, getting drunk and having …relations with Lorelai. All the chairs were still down from the night before, and he debated if he should put them up anyway… to mop the floor, he heard Lorelai's words again, now in an almost seductive whisper _… behind the counter…_

Widely spread behind the counter, Luke found the stray bits of evidence of their first time together, the articles of clothing an inebriated Lorelai had missed. He found one of his red stripped socks, which of course reminded him of the sock man… and Nicole's infidelity. He found the belt he had been wearing, the same belt that Lorelai bought for him when she went to Bloomingdales with his credit card and got all those ridiculous GQ clothes for him. There were two items he knew weren't his, Lorelai's bra and her white lace camisole she had on under her blouse.

He found them by the kitchen door way, carelessly discard in the throws of passion. The weight of his actions last night forced Luke down to the floor, he sat by the kitchen doorway and held the camisole in front of him, and he could clearly see it on Lorelai. He pictured Lorelai beneath him, Lorelai kissing him, Lorelai unbuttoning his shirt, his own hands unbuttoning and removing her blouse. In his mind he saw Lorelai modeling the camisole as it was revealed for the first time to him and the phantom sensation of Lorelai's hands inching toward his belt, the belt he held in his other hand. Luke put down the camisole, and saw his father's handwriting on the side of the back counter, and Luke swallowed hard. He could almost feel his father's eyes from heaven, and felt shame prickle through him, needling him of how he failed; failed to be a good son, a good husband and a good friend. He didn't know whose idea it was, but he was certain things would never be the same again between Lorelai and him.

Luke returned upstairs, and snuck another look at Lorelai in his bed, still sleeping soundly. Luke went to the couch and separated the boy clothes from the girl clothes. Luke was a little uncomfortable handling her … undergarments, but recalled he had no trouble removing them last night from their owner. With more guilt, he dutifully folded her clothes to be ready to hand to her when she woke up.

Luke decided on breakfast and since he had "company" it was only considerate to make Lorelai something too. Considering his guest's tastes, he brought up some bacon and sausage from the diner, and started cooking his first order of the day in the privacy of his apartment. As he cooked his mind wandered back to last night, the more he thought about it, the more he remembered, the more he wished he and Lorelai were really together. Luke quickly decided not to daydream and focused on making breakfast.

As the eggs firmed up, he heard Lorelai groan from the bed. _This is it… this is the moment where everything will be shot to hell._

Luke watched her, as she slowly rolled onto her back, the sheet now pulled up to her chest, and he saw her eyes blink open. How she suddenly sat up and remembered she wasn't at her house or Jason's. How she seemed to feel Luke watching her, and how her head instinctively shot toward him and met his gaze with a mixture of embarrassment and fear in her eyes.

Not knowing what else to say, Luke announced, "I'm making you some breakfast."

Lorelai pulled up the sheet around her, to make sure she was covered, "Umm thank you…"

"Oh and I separated out …our … umm clothes." He picked up her bundle and delivered to her at the bed.

Lorelai didn't know what to say and shyly smiled as she accepted yesterday's outfit from him. She almost looked resentful that he was dressed and she wasn't.

"Umm you can get dressed… I'll have bacon for you in a minute…" he awkwardly segued and he went back to the kitchen. Luke felt that weight in his chest, again not knowing how Lorelai felt about all this… if he should tell Nicole about last night …beating up the Sock-man's car, getting arrested, being with Lorelai in the diner….about all of last night.

As Luke was setting plates on the table, he accidentally caught another glimpse of Lorelai's bare back as she sat in his open bedroom on his bed and hooked her bra and the sight disappeared under the camisole and her wrinkled blouse. Luke went back to watching his pans and finished her breakfast, still unable to make heads or tails of how the last 24 hours had gone so awry.

Luke knew he cared about Nicole… but he knew when he married her, he wasn't in love with her. He knew that when Nicole suggested they put the divorce on hold, and he only hoped that he would grow to love her someday, or that they could make it work, or that his feelings for Lorelai would just disappear. After last night, he was pretty sure no matter how the chips fell, his "marriage", if he could really call it that, was over, and he would always be in love with Lorelai… even if their friendship ended today.

Lost in his thoughts Luke was startled when Lorelai came up beside him, she had never been so quiet before, "Jeez!"

"Sorry, umm I have that effect on people with day old make up…" and she shyly sat at the table, waiting for Luke to serve her, aching for the comfort of their old routine… for something that seemed normal.

"No, you just… surprised me…"

_Yeah me too_, thinking again of last night's events. Lorelai sat at his kitchen table, and watched him finish cooking. Lorelai didn't understand… if Nicole had a passionate husband like Luke… why did she need a sock man?

_Passionate _…

Lorelai thought that was the best way to describe Luke. He only gave Lorelai lectures on healthy food because he cared, he wasn't afraid to stand and speak up at a town meeting if Taylor was acting out of line with his megalomaniac demands on the town. That was who Luke was, he believed in every word he ranted. It would be only natural that such passion would translate to _all _aspects of his life. Now, after being the recipient of that passion… twice… Lorelai was looking at Luke with new eyes.

Luke noticed Lorelai's strange expression and intense gaze as he put her plate on the table "What?"

"Nothing…" she said quickly, and forced her eyes to her plate Luke had placed in front of her and stared her cheesed eggs, bacon and sausage … _my favorite._

There was a few minutes of nervously poking at their respective breakfasts, if Lorelai was staring at Luke too long, he'd feel her gaze and look up, to which she would instantly look down and vice versa. This routine when on a few more times till finally Luke put down his fork and suggested, "Lorelai… we should… talk about … this…?"

"What's to talk about?" she shrugged, unable to read him, trying to stay focused on her eggs, "we got drunk, we had sex… it happens every day," _only you're married… I'm … seeing someone else… it does happen every day,_ she realized.

"Not for me it doesn't… I can't just… forget about it… you're the one that said _we_ have to deal with this…" repeating her emphasis and gesture from last night.

"I know… It's just…" Lorelai seemed to squirm in her seat, truth was Lorelai didn't want to deal with it. She wanted to bury it, keep it secret, keep it hidden, maybe, just maybe pull out the memory from time to time when she really needed some cheering up. She hated change and the unknown, she liked the banter and routine she and Luke had established over the years. She didn't know how hung up on Nicole Luke still was… _Sure he was angry and hurt… but he married her… for some reason… what if he still loves her…despite the Sock man,_ "it's too soon…"

"Too soon?"

"Yeah well, you just found out about Nicole… so you two will need to you know… sort that out or… go to counseling… you know the first two years of marriage are the toughest…and Jason just gave me his key… and then you and I, well we just … sorta collided… it's a lot to take in … in so short a time…"

"So what are you suggesting?"

"Well that we… take some time… process… digest … everything…talk with our… respective partners… "

Luke could only hope Lorelai was rethinking the whole relationship with Jason, she confessed last night some of her doubts… but she wasn't eating, she was poking at the eggs, and moving them around her plate, but nothing had really gone into her mouth; which meant she was taking her looming decisions and their impending consequences very seriously. She wanted to consider everything and that included what last night meant for the big picture down the line.

Luke didn't touch his breakfast either, "I've got to open…" and he stood up, before he left the apartment door he offered, "You can go out the back, through the storage room if… you don't want… people to see you leave."

"Oh okay… thanks…" she smiled, afraid of the hurt in his eyes. Was that from Nicole… or from her dismissal of last night?

But both had significant others to consider.

777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

"Lorelai?"

"Huh?" her headshot up from resting on her hand, her eyes went from her plate to meet the eyes of her boyfriend, Jason. She was taking more bites from her fingernails than the meal he had cooked for her.

"You okay? You seem…. distracted…"

"Do I? ..." _That's because I had sex with another man…_ "I'm sorry… Inn stuff you know…"

"Actually I don't… you haven't said two words in 20 minutes… I was about to call an ambulance… have a doctor give you the once over," he smiled.

"Yeah… yeah…okay?" as she stared intently at her vegetable side dish.

Seeing she wasn't listening, Jason continued, "…And then I was gonna put babies and puppies on spikes in front of the building… you know really deter visitors."

"Yeah, that sounds great," and Lorelai pushed her food around her plate with her fork again, like she had at Luke's.

"Lorelai?"

"Huh?" she snapped up again.

"Come on… what is it?" and he gave her that boyish smiled that always seemed to work before.

Lorelai found it hard to focus on Jason… she kept seeing images of her and Luke together at the Inn. She was trying to think of the Inn, but her mind wandered to when the Inn would open… and of Luke, helping her christen all the rooms with more of his passionate displays.

"Nothing… I'm just worried, you know about the Inn… opening… finishing on time."

"How's your budget?" now that she was talking again, "I mean your grandmother kinda had me worried for a second…"

_Only for a second? I wonder that you turned your mind to it at all_… Lorelai thought resentfully. Lorelai forced herself to take a bite of garlic bread "Yeah, we're fine, I got a loan", _from Luke._ Then the whole thing started over again. She was picturing the different choices of comforters and bed sheets for the Guest's Rooms; she was trying to decide which fabric would bring out Luke's eyes the best. She pictured waking up with him, how his tousled brown hair and blue eyes would match with the fabric in the morning light.

"Lorelai?"

"Huh?" she came back to the present again with Jason.

"Seriously, are you okay?"

"I just have a lot to do… back in Stars Hollow" taking her napkin off her lap, she put it over her unfinished meal to hide that she hadn't eaten, "Umm I'm just gonna go…"

"You're leaving before dessert?"

"I have a lot to do," she shrugged, not wanting to be there for another second, for fear she's start calling Jason Luke.

"Lorelai… no dessert…?" Jason said slowly.

Lorelai shook her head, "Not hungry" not understanding the significance of his observation.

"Lorelai, If you are in trouble… or need my help, I'll gladly do anything…"

_Where was this offer three weeks ago?_ "Jason really I'm fine… hey box-up some dessert for me and I'll eat it when I get to the Inn."

"…but you said you're not hungry," almost like he was now trying to catch her in a lie.

"Well I'm bound to be …eventually," Jason was really getting on her nerves now. He kept staring at her, waiting for her to crack, "Jason" she laughed politely and nervously, "Obviously I can't win here… and I have to go."

"Take a break… Stay the night… I got some new DVDs for your bedroom…" he enticed.

_My bedroom? Now all of a sudden it's mine? My bedroom is in Stars Hollow Mister!_ "Jason…" and she wanted to confess right there, _I slept with some one else… and I can't get him out of my head… I don't love you, I don't want a future with you, please leave…Oh wait it's his place_, "I have to go…" and Lorelai hastily got her coat and purse and was out the door.

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	5. … Under The Circumstances

**TOP 'O' THE STORY TO YE  
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!**

**Friends Doing the Twist  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan FICTION!**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R: Yes, please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Luvz: I miss you**

**FEATURING BETA: localizy, this girl can read at like 200 WPM … I just want to put her on display and sell tickets! BABY, you're the GREATEST! (read her fics What can I say and Can't Buy Me Love, I Helped!)  
****  
A/N:Dialouge borrowed from  
****4.17 - Girls in Bikinis, Boys Doin' The Twist/written by Amy Sherman-Palladino/directed by Jamie Babbit / Intentions and lines altered by me!**

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
****Chapter 5:  
… Under The Circumstances**

Lorelai was furious and scolding her newly spring broken daughter. "So I call this place where you were supposedly staying, and some punk at the desk tells me"

Rory pleaded "I said I was sorry."

"'I'm sorry, ma'am, she's not here anymore.' My-my-my heart flew out of my chest. And not just because he called me 'ma'am.' Which by the way, I hate."

"I didn't mean to freak you out."

"You don't take off without telling Mommy."

"I love that I didn't have to clear it with you to go on spring break, but I had to clear it with you to come home."

"I had visions of you being swallowed by a whale or taking off with some surfers to go chase the perfect wave and not inviting me."

"It just got to be way too much fun."

"Yeah? How much is 'too much?'" Lorelai winced.

"I had a drink."

_Wow like mother like daughter… _"And?"

"Paris and I took turns throwing up."

"That's the way you girls will find yourselves a husband."

"It was fine- aspirin, tons of water, mac and cheese..."

"Ahh, my baby's discovered her first hangover food. I wish I had a picture to put next to your clay handprint.""I think I still have the box."

"Send it to me. So how was it?"

"It was interesting, you know? We sat on the beach, went to a club, we watched 'The Power of Myth,' Paris and I kissed... "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You watched "The Power of Myth"? I hid that from you! You did not spend spring break with Bill Moyers!"

"Enough about me…" Rory rolled her eyes, "tell me about you…"

Suddenly Lorelai felt very uncomfortable talking to her daughter and best friend, "Oh well um, what's to talk about?" Rory's adventures in Spring Break had distracted Lorelai from thinking about her night with Luke.

"Well, I know you missed me…and were worried sick… but what's new in town…any new gossip I've missed?"

"Oh well umm no not really…"

"Mom"

"You are so keeping something from me…spill!"

"Okay well, it's not fun gossip…"

"Alright… tell me…"Rory was concerned about how serious her mother sounded.

"Well, the other night… Luke got arrested."

"What? Don't tell me he finally killed Taylor! Man and I was out of town and missed it!"

"No, this…wasn't…even in town…" Lorelai trailed off, reliving the night again, wondering how she could tell her little girl.

"What?"

"It was in Litchfield," Lorelai decided to start over, and took a deep breath, "Okay, you know how Luke is… married?"

"Yeah?"

"Well… Nicole apparently … forgot that…"

"What?"

"Luke found out that Nicole was …cheating on him…"

"No way!" Rory gasped.

"Yes. And well he didn't take is so well and he sort of beat up the Sockman's car?"

"The who's car?" Rory asked with a raised eye brow

"Nicole's boyfriend, earlier last week Luke mentioned his concerns to me. That he found this random pair of socks at … their place and he realized they weren't his, they weren't Nicole's…"

"Well that doesn't mean…"

"Luke saw them… he saw Nicole and the Sockman enter their place in Litchfield together. Luke was…so was upset and beat up the Sockman's car… then he got arrested, he called me and I drove out to Litchfield, bailed him out. We went back to pick up his truck and well…" Lorelai wanted to be honest and come clean with her daughter, but finished off weakly, "…and they were still inside… the car still out front… and Luke made a second attack which I stopped."

"Wow… I mean I was just getting used to the idea of him being married, and now..." and Rory was starting to boil, "Who could cheat on Luke! I mean he's great… and thoughtful! What a RAT! She gives lawyers a bad name! I never liked Nicole!"

"Me neither," Lorelai honestly agreed.

Rory's voice was suddenly small, "So, how is he? You know now…"

"Aw you know... he's okay. I guess…"

"Well I mean… you've been there for him right?"

_Oh yeah, I was SO there for him…_Thinking of the immediate comfort she offered Luke the night in question. "Of course," Lorelai said in her own small voice, regretting that she stayed away from the diner past week and tried to imagine what Luke had been going through dealing with Nicole and then Lorelai's absent friendship.

"Well, next time you see him… send him my love… okay…"

"Sure sweetie," Lorelai said distantly.

"Is everything okay? You sound funny?"

"No everything is fine…really…"

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Luke rang the bell of the townhouse he was supposed to call his home. As he waited, he looked at the outside of the building… he never really looked at the place before. He thought of what little time he had spent there…no wonder a busy body called the police on him, they didn't know he lived there. Nicole was always out of town on business and it didn't make sense to drive to another county to spend the evening by him-self when he could do that at his place in Stars Hollow.

Luke rang the bell again, and turned his back to the door, he saw the spot where he was arrested, where the sock man had parked…where he and Lorelai stood a few days ago… before…

Nicole finally answered the door; surprised her husband felt the need to ring first, _it's his place too… well it's supposed to be. _"Luke?"

"Hey," he turned and smiled a polite smile to his wife.

"Sorry, I was upstairs… Umm aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Oh, sorry is this a bad time?" wondering if he was interrupting more sock man time.

"Not really …I was just packing for my trip to New York." Nicole found it weird that she was having a conversation with her husband in the door way, "Why did you ring the bell?"

"I don't know… seemed appropriate… under the circumstances."

"Okay? … Well… would you like to come in? … It's your place too, you know" she reminded him.

"Is it?" he said snidely, and then walked past her in to "their" home.

As Nicole shut the front door, she felt a fight coming on. That seemed to be all she and Luke did recently so she knew the signs well. "Alright…" she sighed, tired of always fighting with the man she vowed to love, honor, and cherish and yet rarely did, "…what is?"

"What's what?"

"I find it hard to believe that you would use your lunch break to drive all the way out here to pick a fight… so whatever it is, it must be important," Nicole crossed her arms.

"Well, since you brought it up…" Luke explained, "I know about the sock man."

"The what-man?" Nicole was confused.

"I know … about _him,_" Luke stressed.

Nicole realized she wasn't as clever as she thought, "Oh"

"Yeah, Oh," Luke sarcastically shot back.

"How long... have you known…?"

"A few nights ago… I came here… and … well saw you two … together…" Luke looked around the condo, and realized he missed his opportunity to spend any time here. Lorelai was right; he wasn't really invested in the move. It was terribly inconvenient for Luke to run the diner in Stars Hollow and to be a good husband in Litchfield, especially if Nicole was running out of town every five minutes …with other men.

"Luke…"

"What? You didn't mean for it to go so far? You didn't mean for me to ever find out about it?"

"Luke, please…"

"No… I have a right to be upset…you cheated on me…" and his rant ran dry, he couldn't claim the moral high ground; he was a cheater too, he committed adultery too, and well, he was in love with someone else, too.

Nicole didn't know what impaired his usual power to rant, but seized the opportunity to speak, to defend herself, "Well, can you blame me? You are never here…"

"No you were never here. One week in Boston, another in New York… I never see you…"

"You never see me! I never see you… You are always at the diner…"

"It's my business … I have to be there to run my business…"

"You mean you have to stay there in case _she_ came in…"

"Hey! …Leave her out of this. This is about you and me."

"But you knew exactly who I meant," Nicole challenged, satisfied that her suspicious had been right.

Changing the subject, Luke pushed through, "Look, you were the one who said you wanted to put the divorce on hold … to give being married a try like it was a pair of shoes or something… you were the one who said we could just be married people who dated…you're the one who wanted to move in together…"

"Well, excuse me for thinking we could live in the same house together… like normal married people…"

"Hey, I moved here… for you…"

Nicole scoffed, "No, you didn't! You brought a box over and said you'd get the rest later…but later never came."

Both arguments ran out of steam and the married couple simply glared at each other. Luke knew she was right; he didn't really need to gather his belongings in some dramatic huff because everything had filtered back to Stars Hollow.

"So what now…" Luke was clearly tired of the conversation, "just sign those divorce papers?"

"And get them notarized…" she coldly but gently reminded him.

"Fine," Luke got the information he needed and was ready to go.

She couldn't let things end on that note, "Luke?"

"What?"

"For what it's worth… I did care about you… and I am … sorry…for everything"

Luke didn't know if he should confess to his own crime, but he just left with a quiet and genuine "Me too." His guilt would keep him company on the ride home. Luke knew what he had to do to free his guilty conscience and to be with Lorelai… that is… if she'd have him… _if only she would break up with that Jason guy._

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_It's now or never._

Lorelai knocked on Jason's apartment door and he quickly answered.

"Hey…" Jason was surprised Lorelai was being so formal as to knock, "why didn't you use your key?"

Lorelai nervously played with the piece of metal in her hand, "Oh… I don't know… seemed appropriate… under the circumstances."

"Well, you've got it right there…circumstances?" and Jason noticed how shifty she was… "What's going on?"

"Well, I've been thinking…"

"Okay right away bad… please come in," wanting to offer her a seat and a drink to keep her from finishing her thought.

_My thinking is bad? You tactless jack ass. _"No, Jason, really, I'm good… I just… wanted to give this back to you," and she handed him back the talking key.

Jason just stared at it in his hand for a moment, "What?"

"Jason… I'm sorry… but… I just don't feel what you think I feel… "

"What?" he repeated.

Lorelai could tell he was confused and upset, "Jason, please this is hard enough… I mean … we are going to see each other… when you're at my parent's house… and we never have to tell them …"

"Is that the problem…Okay, okay… well we can tell them right now … we can go over together…I'll get my coat…"

"No, Jason,"_ Why do you have to make things so difficult._ "There is more…to it than that… I just don't… think this is going any where for me…"

"Lorelai, we are doing great…"

"No Jason… we're not… I… I can't be with you…"

"Why not?"

"Jason…" Lorelei closed her eyes and saw Luke again, _Don't make me say it._

"What? I can't know the reason? Is this part of your Gilmore mystique? …I deserve to know why…"

"Fine… there is … someone else."

"What?"

"There is someone else…better suited to me…"

"What are you talking about? We grew up the same way… practically with the same issues… we could share therapists…"

Jason apparently didn't get that Lorelai was talking about someone else specific… and she was fine with that…. _let him be so thick headed…._ "Good bye Jason."

"Lorelai? Lorelai wait…"

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**A/N: OKAY MEMBER WHEN THIS HAPPENED?**

DEAN: So, uh, I got your message.  
RORY: Oh, yeah?  
DEAN: Yeah. Chuckling It sounds like you were, uh, having a pretty good time out there. And I got a lot of questions. I even wrote a couple down. Are you ready?

**Okay this was her message…**

RORY: Dean, hi. Laughs nervously It's Rory. I'm sorry to call you like this, but we're on spring break... Laughs ...And, um, I don't know if you remember Madeline and Louise, but they're evil, and we were just talking about you. Um, hi. How are you? I'm gonna hang up now, so bye. Sorry, good-bye.

**NOW! I'm sorry, would that really spark the need to ask Questions? Or the need to write them down for that matter? What are these grand questions?**

**(Insert Lorelai's impression of Dean Season 2)**

**"Hey Rory, umm okay question one" reads from the paper he wrote it down on… "What… is … Spring Break…? Question 2 what… were… you… drinking… cause it… sounded …good...Question 3 do … you … think… I should… get a hair cut… so I could …see …you… in … you…bikini…?"**

**777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below. **

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


	6. Tangled Up In You

**Friends Doing the Twist  
By Gilmoregirl1979 (the reigning Quote Queen)  
Provider of QUALITY Fan FICTION!**

**Rating: PG-13 **

**Hi this is your friendly disclaimer: I REJECT ASP's REALITY AND SUBSTITUE MY OWN! Once again, I don't own (DAMN IT! DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!), No Harm No Sue. (JUST GIVE ME A JOB and we will call it even!) **

**R/R: yes please I love reviews; I wanna marry them (as previously stated, I have strange passions.) **

**Luvz: I miss you**

**FEATURING BETA: localizy, this girl can read at like 200 WPM … I just want to put her on display and sell tickets! BABY, you're the GREATEST! (read her fics What can I say and Can't Buy Me Love, I Helped!)  
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**Chapter 6:  
****Tangled Up In You**  


It had now been a week since that fateful night. A week since Lorelai had even dared to step into the diner. It was just so awkward knowing that Luke had seen her naked, and not knowing if he was going to be picturing her naked for the rest of their friendship.

Lorelai knew she couldn't put it off any longer; she waited till just before Luke's closing time to enter the diner with a "Hey," and a weak smile.

Luke turned around, obviously not expecting her, "Oh… hey."

Both were shy and nervous, and automatically looked at the counter, remembering what happened back there, before uncomfortably meeting the other's gaze again, and breaking the eye contact in different directions. They didn't know what to say after the other night … having sex pretty much said it all.

Lorelai's eyes kept drifting toward the counter, she was almost seeing ghost images of what happened there, "Umm could we... umm go upstairs? … and talk?"

"Umm, sure," and Luke walked past her to lock the door, and Lorelai tried not to react when his arm brushed past hers. "So upstairs" Luke said from behind her, wondering why she was frozen to the spot.

_Crime scene, number two_… Lorelai thought as she slowly ascended the stairs with Luke behind her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. He opened the door for her, and let her in first.

It seemed the same yet new as they cautiously walked around the apartment a safe distance away from each other, Lorelai automatically looked to her right to see the bed, and she swallowed hard again. She didn't know what she was going to say, she didn't know what she was going to do, she didn't even know what she wanted at the moment. This conversation could turn out bad, and her friendship with Luke could end and they may never speak to each other again, and she may run off and marry Jason, or some one else, any way.

"So what's new…?" Lorelai stupidly asked forcing her eyes from the bed.

"Well, I'm divorced…" Luke said dully… _that's new._

That shot Lorelai's head from the ground to Luke's face, "Really?" _That's new, _Lorelai thought, "That…umm quick?"

"Yeah, well, it helps when you are divorcing a lawyer. … Had it all taken care of this week … I's dotted, T's crossed. Legal and official…" then he grumbled "even though… Kirk was my notary…"

Lorelai briefly smiled, remembering how Kirk seemed to have a job at every business in town, then is faded recalling that they saw Kirk the night everything changed, and then the half smile turned to sympathy for Luke "I'm sorry," she said quietly, even though he seemed very mellow and at peace with the whole fiasco.

"Aw well, it should have happened months ago…" he waved off.

"Yeah…" and Lorelai wondered if Luke had been free back then in the fall. Would he have asked her out when she got back from Europe? Would she have asked him out? One thing's for certain, she would have never dated Jason if Luke had been in the picture. _You can't change it Lorelai, you can't changed what happened last year, last month or last week…_

"So what's new with you? … Rory back from spring break?" Luke was trying to keep the small talk alive for as long as possible.

"Umm yeah, it was too much fun so she… came back early…" Lorelai's hands kept twitching. She just couldn't stop wringing and twisting her hands.

"The Inn doing okay?"

"Yeah… it's coming along… thanks to you…" _and your money… and the wonderful day dreams you inspire…_Thinking of all the decisions she based on her Luke fantasies over the last week.

"Yeah, well…"

"Oh and…umm, point of interest... maybe… umm, I broke up with Jason…" she added causally and quietly waited for his reaction to the news.

"What?"

"I gave him back his key…and told him…" _Just say it! _"…There was… someone else," Lorelai looked intently at Luke, hoping he understood.

"Lorelai…" wondering if he was the "someone else" the way she was looking at him.

She was flooded with memories. First meeting Luke in the diner and giving him that horoscope; the first time he met Rory; the first time she asked him to come over to fix something; the way he looked at her for last 7 years, that look of love that Sookie always said was in his eyes; the way he seemed just an breath a way from asking her out and never following through; the way he touched her a mere week ago. "I love you…" was all she said before she pounced on him from across the room, her arms around him, needing to kiss him again.

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"By the way… I love you too…" Luke whispered in her ear.

"I think I picked up on that," Lorelai smiled at his delayed response, they had better things to do, like show each other how they felt rather than bother with saying it. Here they were again, lying in bed together, only now they were completely happy about the match.

She couldn't help but play with his hands, his magical, wonderfully talented hands. Hands that made her coffee, made her burgers, and now, made her feel like the most desirable, beautiful woman in the world. "So what do we tell the town…?"Lorelai suddenly asked.

"Tell the town?"

"Yeah … about us... I mean they are bound to start asking questions if we start kissing, or making out at town meetings… or have sex in public places…"

"Have sex in public places?" Luke questioned.

Lorelai listed all the possible locations, "Yeah… you know at Miss Patty's… behind Doose's… and my favorite… at the Gazebo…."

"You really think you are gonna convince me to do any of that?"

"Oh, I can be very persuasive… and irresistible…"

"We'll tell 'em the truth…"

"The truth?" Lorelai challenged.

"Yeah...my divorce brought us closer together…"

"Oh _that_ truth…." the real truth gnawed at Lorelai… she never really had a secret from Rory before, "I still feel like I should come clean with Rory… use this as a lesson. Don't sleep with married men…"

"I don't think you have to worry about that from her…"

"You never know … it's always the quiet ones, look at you…" Lorelai still worried about what her daughter had done on Spring Break without her mother's wise advice and counsel on a beach with hundreds of "something cutes" walking by. "Wow Rory went on spring break and I'm in bed with you. Are you sure we haven't crossed over into the bizarro universe?"

"That's hard to picture… Rory on Spring Break…"

Don't worry…she spent her break with Bill Moyer…"

"Who?"

"Forget it…"

No, who is this guy? She spent the week with him?"

With how Luke was reacting, it was clear he didn't approve of Rory dating till she was in a retirement home.

"Calm down… he hosted the Power of Myth on PBS. It's educational I promise"

Luke settled down, "Why did she even go? She could have done that here."

"Well, it was cold for one… and she decided to give the full college experience a chance…"

"Ah, I wouldn't know… didn't go to college…" Luke said plainly, amazed he even knew anyone in the Ivy League.

"Me neither," Lorelai concurred, smiling at the similarity…_ we have stuff in common…we both love Stars Hollow; he likes to make coffee and I like to drink it… he cooks, I eat… we're perfect for each other._ "… and you know… if she was here… this" she gestured between the two of them, "might not have happened," she smiled.

"You're really okay with this? Us, I mean…"

"I'm very happy… I love you," the words never came so easily before. Not with Christopher, not with Max, and definitely not with Jason.

"I love you too, I have…for a long time."

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**TBC? **

**77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777  
"That was all God given talent..." why thank you Luke!  
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777 **

**R/R: PLEASE, I like to better myself. To quote The Princess Bride,  
"...Remember this is for posterity, ... so be honest."  
Please be specific with R/R; name one (or as many as you can think of or want to mention..…) At least one specific thing you liked **

**Please! It makes me feel good...inside (Dirty!) **

**Hence the Rant option below.**

**Insert Rant here V  
A/N: if not completely satisfied with this chapter, please return unused portion for a full refund...**


End file.
